Platform: Mac, Windows

Dream Chronicles is a sensual delight, an intellectual challenge, and a very engaging twist on adventure, seek-and-find and puzzle games. It's been compared to Myst and Uru, and whilst it's certainly not as demanding as those mainstream titles, I found Dream Chronicles even more enjoyable.

You play Faye, who has a dream in which Lilith, the Fairy Queen of Dreams casts a sleep spell over the kingdom. When you awaken, you find that your husband has been kidnapped by Lilith and your child is overcome by the sleep spell. You must find your way to Lilith's domain and free your husband to defeat Lilith and lift the spell. To do this, you must solve puzzles that Lilith has left in your way to prevent you from following her. In addition, you can increase your score by collecting Dream Jewels, which are subtly strewn through each scene.

The whole game covers a wide range of game types, including adventure/RPG, jigsaw, seek-and-find, and a final hurdle that looks alarmingly like the graduate aptitude tests I've been doing recently. You are given hints as to how to proceed, and some brief instruction, but you need to work out what is actually required yourself. (I'm not telling—that would ruin it!) There are walkthroughs available on the web, but they are only useful for finding out what has to be done—the locations of the things you have to find change in each game.

As in Mr. Robot, the variety of puzzles is both a strength and a weakness. If you're not a musician, you may find the music puzzle a significant challenge—even knowing what I had to do, I found it very difficult. Puzzles like this can be a real show-stopper. Conversely, those of you who are veteran point-and-click masters may find Dream Chronicles rather easy. I enjoyed most of the puzzles, coped with the ones I didn't enjoy, and only had to refer to a walkthrough once. (I also kept a pen and paper in front of me, and have two envelopes covered in detailed notes!) You can also replay the game to beat your high score, as you are guaranteed to miss a few jewels.

Visually, however, Dream Chronicles is an absolute joy. The artwork is astonishing, even surpassing lovely games like Hidden Expedition: Titanic. Every scene had me marveling at how beautiful the illustration was. Be sure to check out the credits to see some of the conceptual artwork, which is more cartoony than that used in the game, but still visually stunning.

The story is also interesting—it's probably an indicator of how many women are getting into casual gaming that you are playing a woman who has to save her husband from being ravished by the evil Queen! The dialogue and descriptive text reveal a sense of humour and a real interest in storytelling, which is sadly lacking in many puzzle games. Although many will find the ending unsatisfying, it makes it clear that there must be a sequel, and I for one am really looking forward to it.

441 Comments

The art was beautiful, and I liked the feature that made clickable things sparkle after a while. Some of the objects were just too hard to differentiate from the surroundings, and on more than one occasion, even with the sparkles, I resorted to random clicking. Many of the puzzles can be solved by trial and error, so one doesn't really need to figure them out.

I loved the mythos of the fairy world and wanted it fleshed out more. The gems telling about fairies were a nice touch.

But, with only 16 chapters I don't think it's worth the money, when one considers that a game like Mystery Files Ravenhearst, for the same price, provides much longer playing time. Maybe when they release the sequel they could package them together? I might buy that.

great post, i really liked the game for what it was: about 2-3 hours of casual play. but did i get some sort of scoop by not having to pay, and getting to play the whole game, all 18 chapters? the couple of times i left the game i didn't shut it down, i just paused it and hit the windows key on my keyboard, so...

old woman - Are you referring to Big Fish? Because the links above are to the Arcade Town download of the game.

In either case, neither company will charge you for a game automatically, you have to select the "Buy now" option for it to initiate the transaction. It would surprise me if this were not the case with any of the casual game portals.

I'd like to nip this in the bud, for I don't want anyone to be afraid to try out a game in fear they will be charged for it unknowingly. If anyone is charged for a game unknowingly, I want to hear about it immediately. I will take the matter up with whichever company is responsible.

I've done the one-hour trial thing on many, many games at Big Fish, and never had a problem with being charged for a game. In most cases, if you can leave the game on and sitting there for multiple hours, you've already gone through the motions of buying it -- the game would shut itself down long before that. So getting to do the whole thing is odd.

ObGameDiscussion: I was also disappointed by this one. The interface was clumsy at times -- the diary serves two purposes: to tell you what Fidget has to say about where you are and to display your jewels. Every time I clicked on the book after finding jewels, I got to see the jewels and not help on what to do. Maybe I didn't see a way to switch between the two functions, but that's just another design flaw. Two things to do, so why not two separate tools to do them?

The game relies heavily on pixel-hunting -- should I need both hot spots and little sparklies to help me find the things I'm supposed to find? I'd have rather seen some other form of help that didn't give away the answers and reacted when I asked for it, rather than revealing things I haven't had time to find and not always revealing the things I clearly can't find. Or don't know I'm supposed to be looking for.

That most people say it's short (this explains the half-hour trial, rather than the standard hour) is the last straw. I won't be buying this. The artwork is gorgeous, and the non-searching puzzles are often clever (

though I still don't understand why the pause symbol is the opposite of X

), but they're also often illogical (

I can't open this door because the horsey is suddenly not coloured in? What?

). Azada presents better puzzles, artwork on par with this game's, and within the situational puzzles, everything makes sense.

"Pretty as it is, this game is WAY too short and easy to justify the $19.95 charge. I was expecting longer and more challenging gameplay when purchasing the full version and was seriously disappointed. I have purchased shareware games in the past for this amount which adequately ticked these boxes, or at least had higher replay value.
The price should be lowered, or the game should be enhanced."

The game did autoclose on me after 30 minutes, so I could play all through it, took 1:47 minutes for me.

I'm not greedy, but 20$ for 1:47 fun is still veery expensive, I'll rather go to a movie with 8$ for 2 hours. Or drink some beer with friends...

The game itself didn't require so much wit, as more a trained click finger, since it will soon turn out to a click-fest. The graphics were nice, and the music, but the game setup, you got the feeling it was done by someone who has the same disorder as Monk has ;-) The world is out of order, and it is your task to put everything on *its* place, with a lot of messages while traveling like "this thing doesn't belong here"...

A charming game - not just the AV, but how the needed narrative guidance of the memory of her husband actually enhances the sense of wonder, with ideas of "trust" and so on.

A UI quibble - no way to interrupt the animation when you find each jewel. There are many, and easy to see. Maybe very young kids (target audience) would like this? I don't know. I found it really annoying.

I got stuck in the library

I got the crystal, and the note on the globe, saying it needs to be charged, and then place on the crystal ball. But I couldn't find anywhere to charge it; and couldn't find anywhere to put the "new" book.
When I closed the program and start again later, I was passed of 30mins trial - maybe it disabled something earlier, without telling me? Anyway, I'd just like to know out of curiousity, even tho I can't use the info

These guys always make beautiful looking games, but they always seem like they are designed for someone in their early teens.

I'm 31 and probably wouldn't mind purchasing some of these games if they would just design them with multiple levels of difficulty and allow the user to turn the sparkly hints off (which are really annoying). Some of the games automatically give you hints after ten or so seconds of inactivity.

This company obviously has a talented art department, but they need to create games that are longer or have replay value.

Wow. I knew you point-and-click nutters would find it easy, but I didn't realise you were going to find it so easy that you could knock it off within the demo time! I did mention this in the review, but I thought you'd still get a few hour's gameplay out of it.
One thing to consider is that you can often buy a package of several games for $20 - perhaps you would find this more valuable in a bundle with more challenging games.

The library:

To charge the crystal, put it IN the book. It will start to glow, then pick it up and put it on the crystal ball on the top right.

I'm having trouble getting the demo to run after I open the balcony door. It locks up, and when I close the game and try to pick up where I left off, it will lock up again right after I click Play on the main menu. I've tried this with two players already, and it still freezes at the same spot.

Jay, sorry, no scare-mongering intended. Yes I bought the game from Big Fish before Ms.45 reviewed it. And I hasten to add that I have no problems with Big Fish. They work like a book club, which I initially did not comprehend, and I thought I had bought a game without being charged for it. OOOops!

If you've picked up too much stuff in the street, you have several options.

One is to quit the game and go back in - you will restart the level with no items.
Another is to randomly put items on the poles until one of them fits perfectly. You'll know because you won't be able to remove it. Click on the green gates to access the poles. (This is a weak point of the game - why bother weighing everything when you can just do this?)
If you have already picked up some of the black weights, click on the fruit stand. You can put the weights on the "shadows" to the bottom left of this screen, freeing up inventory space.
When you've finished putting items on poles, you'll be able to click on the gates to leave.

OK you guys are much "swiffier" than I am. I'm enjoying the graphics and such but I can't seem to find the rope for the well. Where did I go wrong? I agree about the sparkles indicating hints but still can't find rope. Did I forget it on another level?

@melanie
This part drove me crazy, because the rope is right there to your right, but it won't let you just take it. You need to find one more item. The

scissors

are hard to see but they're

at the foot of the well.

I too was able to play the entire demo to the end :)

I found the sparkly things helpful when there was stuff I needed to find (I don't like pixelhunting), but when you pick up the item, the sparkleability doesn't turn off, and that was annoying/distracting.

hi there i just want to say that once you try this game you are hooked on it because i know i have been playing this game all morning and all afternoon and all evening and i am still playing just want to take a break and say i love this game here it is one of the greatest games i have played n a long time.
just wish i could find the rope in the back yard .

Could someone please help me figure out the statue level? I have the legs and pants up. In my inventory I have an arm, the bust, a shoulder and a book. But it wont let me place any of them. Are there more parts, and if so, where? And what do I do now?

Love, love, love this game! The story, and the graphics-the graphics alone make this game fantastic! While a little bit on the short side, it definitely makes me eager for the sequel. I can't remember the last time I was so into a casual game! Many might say it was easy, the memory parts really got frustrating for my poor ADD self. But I did reach the rank of Master Fairy! Hoo-ray!

find the crank then attatch it to the piano. find pictures and put them in their right place on the wall. click the picture and a piano tune plays. click the piano then click the crank. watch the keys press down then press the exact keys in they right order. do that for all the pictures. they each have their own tune.

Hi guys, I'm really stuck at the 17th level, the one where I'm supposed to find the room in which Fidget is kept captive. There the buttons I used by then nothing happens. I clicked on every inch of the graphics, from the lamposts to the hard stairs. There is a sparkle right above the stairs. When I click on it, nothing happens. Waht should I do?? Please, it's driving me nuts. Thanks.

Nice game. I'm enjoying playing it. Not worth $19.95 though. I only paid $9.95 for it. Anyway, I'm stuck on Chapter 15. It's the chapter with the light and the wood tiles on the tree trunks. I'm not sure what I'm suppose to do with the tiles and I've tried arranging them according to the signs on the lamp post, but no luck. I need help! Also, the book is of no help whatsoever. I thought Fidget was suppose to give "subtle" hints as to what to do. He just continues telling his story from chapter to chapter.

With the cards you move the crystal ball and it puts a light show thingy on the wall.
That's quite easy put the cards on there...if they fit they go light if they don't they stay red. I think it's opposites so if it's a square you put circle on the opposite side.
piano room. haven't done yet. but from what I gather use crank on the piano. get a wrench use on floor board for key to piano. add all pics to wall. 7 in all. and then everytime you look at picture you crank the piano then copy what keys where played.

I have been super stuck and frustrated before so below are some super big spoilers:

The piano/picture puzzle directions:

Click the pic. listen. click the piano. watch it play and follow along. The notes are listed in the below spoilers if you really don't want to figure it out. Except the horse pic...I did it first and didn't write it down...so you can enjoy learning one at least... Enjoy.

phewwww....thanks a ton for that Xenia and Nikola!!..U guys rock..!! For the carnivore plant, all I did was to be nice to it. I don't remember and the piano, OMG!! It took foreverrrrr!! Anyways thanks for all your help out there..

2. You will see blue lights flickering at 4 spots. 2 at the bottom of the handles of the stairs and 2 next to them each. The lamposts. The switches are like flowers at the bottom.
3. Observe carefully the lights flicker in the order it has been given. If it's too fast, click on the stairs again and it will flicker one more time in the same order.
4. Click exactly on the flower-designed switches where the lights flickered in the same order.
5. The stairs will be formed gradually as you click correctly.

I am stuck after the stairs in Chapter 17. i have figured out the forst 3 puzzles- green, lightest to heaviest 7 elements but I am stuck on the fourth one ( the one with the mysterious gems)- not sure what the are asking for

I loved it!!! I d/l'ed it Thursday, and finished it this afternoon. I'd been at work in the meantime, thinking about getting home and getting back to it! I'm going to 'guestimate' that it probably took me 9-10 hours?

Your comments are wonderful and informative... This is My Very First Ever 'game' of this sort, only the word 'experience' seems more apt. Obviously, you are all more informed about what the time/financial expectations should be for a game like this, but... It's my first time, so... All bets were off with me.

The graphics, the music... stunning. I especially liked that it has its own sort of logic (to me), and required me to be away from it THINKING. Ahhh... And I was once again put face-to-face with one of my worst flaws: I over-think things.

Case in point: The last level (18?) where one has to solve the four puzzles. I was FOREVER working with "2 X 3 = 3.141592" (Pi, as we all know). I wrestled with this for more time than I care to admit before I realized (and I won't be a "spoiler" here) that it was so simple. I kept looking for a square root glyph. Duh, me :-)

I appreciated the challenges. Again, I will use that "L" word, Logic. This was by no means 'easy' for me, but hindsight shows me the logic.

To wrap this up, it was GREAT fun, and finding this site is the icing on the cake!

Hi, this forum is an awesome thing.. I found this game graphically stunning. I think whoever created it, put a lot of love into detailing and I felt that everything just looked so authentic - simply perfect. I agree with some posts that say that the game could be longer and at some points, more challenging, but then, at the other hand, hey - like this you really can soak it all up and enjoy the beautiful graphics!!

I just wanted to comment on the level in the woods - sorry that I forgot the number

It's where you have to build the lamppost and rearrange the wooden tiles on the tree - trunks. As long as you don't move them from one trunk to the other, it should just work out fine and both trunks will light up when you copy the structures shown on the signs. But once I mixed and matched them - because like someone here, too, I could only get the left one to activate, and the right one didn't work out at all, no matter what I did,there was no more way and I had to restart the level - but then, after that it worked instantaneously?? so maybe it's a bug, anyhow just wanted to share: keep it simple and it should work.

I read soo many of these I am forgetting what I originally wanted say.. eek... THis game is pretty fun :) I admit I was stuck at the piano for quite some time, but alas made it through. Now stuck with the weights, but am sure that will work out eventually thanks to some wonderful people here :)

hope this works.. for those stuck in piano, play the tune the piano plays; the garden, there are multiple pieces of some you need to find; the statue, that one is a tough find, because there are numerous pieces all over.. just start clicking alot around the ground and near the left upper and right lower to find the pieces

Ann, just play the tunes that the piano plays. There is no specific order. Can anyone assist with the (rank unknown) dark forest? I have gotten 3 pieces of something, two folded signs, a crank and nothing is working correctly :(
I have one piece of something on the stand, it turns, but cannot add anything else to it no matter how much I turn it... Any ideas from you wonderful gamers??
(I would greatly appreciate it :)

I just played the game through a 2nd time... wow -- I'm now at "fairy" status (at 345000 points). I'd LOVE to know what a "perfect" score is, and how it's determined. Is time a factor? I've seen scores of over a million on the "global" list. How on earth do they do that?

Somebody go ahead & "spoil" it for me please!!! I am stuck after the stairs in Chapter 17. i have figured out the first 3 puzzles- green, lightest to heaviest 7 elements but I am stuck on the fourth one ( the one with the mysterious gems)- not sure what the are asking for

I had the same problem as otochan. The game would lock up when I tried to enter the balcony. I discovered that my machine (P3, 800MHz processor, 512M ram, W2K, and DirectX 9b) is not up to processing the game although it just exceeds the specs listed for the game. I tried it on a newer machine (P4, 3GHz processor, 512M ram, and DirectX 9c) and discovered that there were also cut scenes and such that had not been running on my P3. I think the minimum specs for the game are too low.

This is one of the best games I have purchased on my BigFish account, and only cost $9.95. I, like others, was over-thinking many times. Often it was much easier than I was making it.When I tried playing it again, I discovered that they had changed the songs on the piano, placed hidden things in different places, the items are different where the weights are, etc. It's practically a whole new game each time you play it. I have scored almost 1 million now,(not bad for a 72 year old) but can't figure how you can score 2 million unless someone has figured out a way to get out of the text screens faster. Azada is next best of the games I play. This is a good way to keep that old mind working!

I am stuck in the Tree House. The Wagon is fixed and moved.
I have a screw driver and a hobby horse. I have been using a screw driver to try to open the trap door. I must have clicked 100 times all around the screws on the floor. No luck.
Please Help. Thanks Judy

You have to select the screwdriver and click in the right spot to get out of the tree house

Blue lights to get up those darn stairs

the last sequence to memorize is the hardest; there are four blue lights and I will number them 1234 from left to right. To get up the last part of the stair you will need to click 3,1,2,4,4,1,2,3,4,4
but thats ONLY if our games play the same code of light flickers. I really dont know

I love this game :) I'm stuck in the music room currently, but know I will figure it out soon. The thing that makes everything at Big Fish Games affordable for me, is joining the game club. I only paid 6.99 for this game, as I do with every game. It's a great way to get games for less. You just have to purchase so many games in 1-2 years time. So this is definitely worth the 6.99 for me :)

I can't find the fourth light in the mansion. I think I have clicked everywhere. Don't want to give up but I am frustrated. I have the first, second and third lights all on the bottom level. Where is four????? Pleeeeze help me :D

5.Female symbol card ( circle with cross at bottom) small bookcase yellow book top shelf

6. ( + ) card- small bookcase top shelf far right

7. Half moon card- far left of the screen almost at the bottom.

8. (x ) card- left side of the small bookcase

Click on the far right of the wall where the symbols are lit to enter that room. You have to arrange opposing symbols opposite of each other. For example:

# the male symbol has to be opposite the female symbol

# the (x )has to be opposite the (ll) symbol

# the (+ )symbol has to be opposite of the (-)

# the 3 horizontal squiggly lines have to be opposite the other 3 vertical squiggly lines ( water and fire)

# half moon opposite the sun ( circle with dot in the middle)

# square opposite the circle

# up arrow opposite the down arrow

# arrow pointing right opposite arrow pointing left

You will know the symbols are in the correct order when they light up white. Imagine putting the pieces across from each other. Just trace the line that connects oneto other w ith your finger. Sorry but that's the best way I can explain it. Don't forget to click the 3 clear gems on this screen.

If this is not, what you are looking for, please let me know, which chapter you need

Please help, just bought this game. Got to the piano sequence, but I don't know which keys play which notes! All the tip sites give the order, for ex., GAGE..etc. Which key is G?? I've never touched a piano in my life and have no musical training, I wouldn't know a G or E note if it hit me in the head!
How can I tell which keys to hit when?

I am so stuck on CH 17. I can't figure out what to do w/ the lights and I can see that there are pics missing from the wall, but I'm going crazy clicking all over the screen to find something that helps. The sparkly thing does me no good since I can't see it. Help!

okay i am super stuck in chapter 4...i have been trying to cut the wood to fix the bridge but it won't let me saw the wood...i don't get whats going on??? i am following the spoiler instructions clearly and still nothing is happening. can anyone help me????

I've just finished this one today but I really didn't know how to solve 3 puzzles in the last chap without your helping.
Anyway could someone explain to me why could you arrange the symbols like that?
Thanks in advance.
T.

I am stuck on chapter 14, I have figured out the pillars at the gate, but I can not get the lever 58. I know the cheat says use the wooden wagon. I have picked up a small toy wagon but I know that is not the one. The is a bigger on on the sidewalk that I can not pick up. Someone please tell me what to do. I am so frustrated i've spent hours trying to figure out the game.

Okay, I am REALLY stuck. I just recieved this game as a gift and instanly loved it, the only thing is, I am stuck on Chapter 5...I have put together the wagon, moved it off the trap door, tried to use the screwdriver but it is telling me that it is used somewhere else. Also, there is a sparkle on the back wall near the balloon, but, when I click on it nothing happens. I have quit and retried numerous times. Can someone please tell me how to get past it?? Thank you.

I'm on chapter 15 ... I have the left tree glowing and the right tree has the right blocks in the right spots as per walkthrough, but I can't leave? I can't get out of the forest ... I've even resorted to random clicking - it's not helping.

There's a sparkly by the lamppost, but even when I click around there I get nothing.

Btw, I like the game, but do agree it's very short. I know I'm near the end and I've whizzed through it. Luckily though, I caught it as a $2.99 game on BigFish so I got it super cheap. Well worth the money I paid for it :D

am stuck on chapter 14, I have figured out the pillars at the gate, but I can not get the lever 58. I know the cheat says use the wooden wagon. I have picked up a small toy wagon but I know that is not the one. The is a bigger on on the sidewalk that I can not pick up. Someone please tell me what to do. I am so frustrated i've spent hours trying to figure out the game.

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